Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has attributed the high rate of accidents on the Accra-Kumasi highway largely to reckless driving, despite challenges with road infrastructure.
Speaking on Good Afternoon Ghana on Metro TV, Abraham Amaliba said driver behaviour accounts for the majority of crashes on the busy stretch.
“The involvement of vehicles in road crashes, 90% of it is driver recklessness,” he stated.
He described dangerous practices such as wrongful overtaking and driving into oncoming traffic as common on the highway.
“On that road you can see drivers driving in the opposite directions and meeting each other. It’s like Formula 1,” he said.
Mr Amaliba noted that some drivers attempt to overtake multiple vehicles at once due to impatience, putting lives at risk.
“You will see a driver overtaking like 10 cars because he’s in a hurry,” he added.
While acknowledging that poor road conditions contribute to accidents, he maintained that they do not fully excuse unsafe driving.
“You cannot say it is solely the drivers, but the drivers too are part of it,” he said, pointing to potholes and narrow sections that force motorists onto the shoulders.
He also highlighted the lack of a dual carriageway on the Accra-Kumasi route as a structural problem, increasing the likelihood of head-on collisions.
“For such long distances linking two of the biggest cities, you need a dual carriage. The single lane is what causes the head-on collisions,” he explained.
Mr Amaliba described the current state of the road as unacceptable and welcomed ongoing plans to construct an expressway to improve safety.
“It’s a national disgrace that two of the biggest cities have that type of road,” he said.
He expressed hope that improved infrastructure, alongside better driver discipline, would significantly reduce accidents on the highway.
